OLYMPIA — Hundreds of West Sound wrestlers learned the difficulties of surviving the Narrows League sub-regional tournament last weekend.
After two days of brutal competition against Bridge and Bay Division foes, only 49 were left standing when the final match ended at 10:30 p.m. Saturday night.
Five North Kitsap wrestlers will be taking the trip to regional competition.
They include Clark Hutchman, who took first place in the 160-lb. weight class; A.J. Weber, who was fourth at 171; Leo Pendergraft, who was fifth at 152; Doug Piehl, who took seventh at 140; and Kyle Cetnarowski, who was eighth at 119.
The top eight placers in each weight class earned a trip to this weekend’s regional at Foss High School.
Head Coach Larry Maguire wasn’t surprised by the Vikings’ finishes.
“That was about what we figured we’d get,” Maguire said. “We figured one or two more might sneak in there, but they didn’t make it… but they did pretty good.”
Expectations, surprises, and disappointment were the common expressions felt by area coaches and wrestlers.
South Kitsap will send the most wrestlers out of the area with 18.
Central Kitsap sends 14, Olympic nine, North Kitsap five, and Bremerton three.
CK’s hopes of getting at
least four wrestlers to state squandered down to three when 145-pounder Mike Frerichs suffered a shoulder injury on Friday in the second round, which
eliminated him from the competition and ended his season prematurely.
Frerichs was looking to get back to state, where he advanced all the way to the state final before being disqualified last year.
CK seniors Chad Eickmeyer (135 pounds), Jason Sencil (140), and Josh Martinelli (152) cruised to sub-regional championships.
SK also crowned three champions, with sophomore Brandon Kelly (112), junior Micah Kipperberg (130), and senior Pat Kelly (145) earning No.1 seeds into regionals.
Olympic’s Alex Jaime (103) and Hutchman (160) also won individual titles.
While the winners came as no surprise, there was a lack of a few wrestlers that were expected to make it to the finals.
SK’s Dustin Johnson (125) lost his last two matches to finish fourth, and Olympic’s Clyde Switzer saw his undefeated record of 27-0 fall to 27-2 and a fourth-place finish.
